What the coasting trade was
The coasting trade was the business of carrying cargo by sea along the coast, from one port to another within the same country. For centuries it was the main way to move bulky, low-value goods in Britain. A load of coal, stone or grain was heavy and cheap, and a small ship could carry far more than a cart over roads that were often poor. Cornwall, with a long coast and many small ports, depended on this trade.
The ships were small by later standards. Typical vessels were sailing ketches, schooners and similar rigs, often with crews of only a few people. They were built to be handy in narrow harbors and shallow water, and to be sailed by a small number of men. Many were owned by captains, families or small local partnerships.
What the ships carried
The pattern of cargoes reflected Cornish industry and its needs. Some common examples include:
- Coal, brought in from South Wales and the north of England to heat homes and drive steam engines at mines and works.
- Copper ore, commonly sent to smelters in South Wales rather than being processed in Cornwall.
- China clay, shipped from ports such as Par and Charlestown to customers around Britain and abroad.
- Granite and other stone, moved from quarries to building sites and harbor works.
- Limestone, sand and seaweed, used to improve fields, since Cornish soils benefited from lime and sea sand.
- Timber, salt, grain and household goods, carried in smaller quantities to places with no easy road access.
This shows why mines and ports grew together. Ships often arrived with coal and left with ore, so the trade worked in both directions. The engine houses of the mining districts depended on coal arriving by sea, and the story of many mining communities includes a quay nearby.
Small ports, big networks
Cornish ports were linked to each other and to places farther away. Hayle, Portreath, Padstow, Fowey, Penzance and many others saw coasters regularly. Smaller landings handled cargo straight on to beaches, with carts driven out at low tide to meet the boats. The way a cargo was handled depended on the shelter available, which is where good harbor design mattered.
Trade routes crossed the Bristol Channel to Wales, ran east along the English Channel to the south coast, and reached across to Ireland and France. Not every voyage was short. Many coasters traveled on to the Continent or the Atlantic islands, so the line between coasting and foreign trade was blurred.
How sailors found their way
Navigation on these voyages was practical and relied on experience. Skippers knew their coast and their ports in detail. Several methods were widely used:
- Landmarks and sea marks, such as church towers, headlands, hills and, later, lighthouses and beacons. Local knowledge told a skipper which hill, aligned with which rock, showed a safe channel. The Cornish lighthouses added reliable night marks.
- The lead line, a weighted rope marked in lengths, used to measure depth. The lead could also be coated in tallow to pick up a sample of the seabed, and experienced sailors could often judge their position from sand, shell or gravel.
- Compass and charts, which grew more accurate over time, though they were sometimes less detailed than local knowledge.
- Tides, which mattered more than almost anything. A skipper planned a voyage around the tide, since a favorable tide could add a lot to a slow sailing vessel’s speed, and a harbor entrance might only be usable for a few hours. The principles are the same as in coastal tides today.
Pilots, local men with detailed knowledge of a harbor or an estuary, were often hired to bring ships in. This is one of the jobs for which pilot gigs were used.
Life aboard
Life in the coasting trade was hard and not well paid. Crews worked in all weathers, loaded and unloaded cargo by hand or with simple tackle, and spent little time at home. Accommodation aboard was small and basic, and accidents were a regular risk. Sailing on a lee shore in a gale was among the most dangerous situations, as the shipwreck stories of the coast show. Some coasters went missing without a trace.
Even so, the trade offered work and a path upward, since a mate could become master, and a master could sometimes become an owner. Many of the families who ran Cornish ships also kept farms or small businesses ashore.
Why the trade faded
The coasting trade did not end suddenly. Steam ships were more reliable than sail, and railways offered faster, more predictable transport. The Cornish railway network, completed in stages in the nineteenth century, reduced the need for sea transport of many goods. Later, roads and motor lorries took more. Mine closures also removed major cargoes of coal and ore.
Sailing coasters survived in decreasing numbers into the twentieth century, and some small motor coasters took their place. Today, ports like Fowey and Par still handle commercial cargo, but the old pattern of many small ports and many small ships has largely gone.
Traces that remain
Visitors can still find evidence of the trade: quays with iron rings and bollards, stone steps, warehouses and lime kilns near landing places, and old rails leading down to the water. Treat quay edges and slipways with caution, as they can be slippery and are often unfenced.